Near Miss of the Day 528: Driver pulls out on cyclist “lit up literally like a Christmas tree

We’ve all heard the expression of a cyclist “being lit up like a Christmas tree� – some of us (cough) may even have indulged in it ourselves in the past month or so, with tinsel and fairy lights on the bike – but it still doesn’t stop some motorists from not seeing them, as happened to road.cc reader Joel when he was out on a ride in Warwickshire.

“Today's special is ‘I can see you coming but I'll just wait until you're properly near before pulling out on top of you’,� Joel said.

“Going out for a ride to shake out the cobwebs after a long day of work plus homeschooling it was a little misty, but I kitted up with full fluoro jacket, fully charged high lumen front light (directed down at the road while in town) and ‘MonkeyLectric’ spoke lights – which display changing patterns on the wheel as you ride.

“In other words i was ‘lit up literally like a Christmas tree’. The road at this point is also well lit.

“I simply can't explain what the thought process of this driver must have been. They waited for some time and then pulled out just as I approached. I had to properly slam on the brakes not to hit them.

“As they turned across me to push into the road ahead I looked in the side window and made eye contact with the driver – a c.50 yearr old woman – she did not make any effort to avoid the impending collision whatsoever.

“The L plate on the back was disturbing – I very much doubt she was the learner, but somewhere out there someone is most likely learning to drive with this mentality as the backdrop.

“Reported to Warwickshire Police – who don't generally advise on outcomes (in fact I've never even had an acknowledgement),� Joel added.

“However I did have a response recently from my Police and Crime Commissioner to whom I raised this as an issue, advising that they had secured additional resource for Operation Snap that should improve their response capability so I guess I'll find out if that actually makes any difference.�

https://road.cc/content/news/near-mi...ree-one-280327